Essentials ?

'They' do have 'stick'.... i buy Sure solid, which i hate, Dove solid, which i also hate, Mitchum solid in baby powder and waterlily scent, which i like, and Simple solid, which i haven't tried.

Damn, QG, you could've told me this months ago instead of letting me use that crappy Nivea spray deodorant! LOL!   I can confirm there is no stick deodorant in Amble, but hey, I can go the extra ten miles to Alnwick for that!  

If you have a sound machine and like it (or "need it" to go to sleep), bring it and figure out how to get it to work with the electricity (usually just buying a replacement AC adapter).  Also, if you like tacos and use taco seasoning, bring that as well as the only brand I've been able to find is Old El Paso and it tastes different here (if you're picky about that).  If you like dill pickles, you may want to bring either a jar of your preferred brand or one of those pickling kits.  Also, Ranch dressing mixes (and well, any dressing you like as I've not been able to find very many here).  Oh, and the more OTC meds you can get in the US, the better as everything here comes in really small packages.

The Discovery taco seasoning is so close, I don't notice the difference (there isn't any curry powder in that one, at least!) But I tend to do my own these days. It's pretty easy to do. Agreed about the ranch dressing packets, if you are into that, as there is ranch dressing here, but it isn't quite the same. You won't find Velveeta, cornbread mix, or some other things like that here, if you are into them, you might want to bring them with you. Cookbooks are nice to bring, if you have some faves, and Mexican ingredients (green chiles, enchilada sauce, Rotel, chipotle, etc., etc.) if you like Mexican food, as you will probably end up making your own since there aren't usually many good restaurants for that. You can find some Mexican ingredients here, but sometimes you have to order them online and they cost quite a bit more. If you want to think ahead to Thanksgiving, and you have something that you would just NEED to have in order to make it feel like the holiday, you might want to bring it. Some people bring holiday decorations, especially for July 4th, etc. Some people get depressed about the Christmas decorations here and wish they had brought some of theirs from the states, so that may be something to consider, too.
On a personal note, if you really like oatmeal, you might want to bring some, as all I have found here is porridge, which is mushy and not the same whatsoever.
If you ask everyone on this forum, there will be all kinds of things different people miss, so just bring your fave foods if you aren't sure you will find them here. But try to pack light, too! HA!  

Actually, they have really excellent, inexpensive Tampax here (the good, old-fashioned, labor-intensive kind with the shaped cardboard applicator and everything). That was one of those surprise "grass is greener" things.

But pack paper towels, if you care. I ended up packing my stuff in rolls of select-a-size Brawny. It made excellent padding. Paper towels -- kitchen roll -- here is a flimsy proposition. Even if you pay for the premium stuff, it isn't great. And the sheets aren't as wide.

Your icon makes me lol everytime. I love it. Yeah I saw the paper towels first thing when I arrived in London the first time. We had to go straight to the tattoo parlor and I was like HUH? Why are those mini towels? And everyone thought I was nuts. I've since just used the crap ones and bought some bar towels. I have 6 bags/boxes so far so I dunno if I can bring paper towels now.  

My mom uses snack bags of goldfish and gerber puffs (for my toddler) for padding in her packages. She bought me a beautiful antique cake plate and used snacks for packing. Still eating those goldfish! You should be able to get a full range of deoderant at any boots store, however I do bring some from the US because I like the bigger packs. I also like US toothpaste for some strange reason...

Also, I know tampons were on that thread, but I have found that most of the same kinds are available here - I use Tampax Compak multi-pack, and I have seen other Tampax ones (Pearl and others).

Whoa, hold on--you found Tampax Pearl in the UK?  Where?  I really, really don't like the regular Tampax, but that's the only thing I've seen here! 

Whoa, hold on--you found Tampax Pearl in the UK?  Where?  I really, really don't like the regular Tampax, but that's the only thing I've seen here! 

I recommend the Mooncup (www.mooncup.co.uk). So much easier than buying tampons and/or pads every month!

I recommend the Mooncup (www.mooncup.co.uk). So much easier than buying tampons and/or pads every month!

I love the mooncup! Took a while to get used to, but very comfortable and easy to use!

Whoa, hold on--you found Tampax Pearl in the UK?  Where?  I really, really don't like the regular Tampax, but that's the only thing I've seen here! 

I haven't seen tampax pearl in the UK, but I hate the regular (cardboard) tampax with a passion so I use the tampax compak (plastic) over here- next best thing to pearl, IMO.

I tried the tampax compak and didn't like it either, though it's better than the cardboard ones.  That mooncup looks interesting; I tried something similar a while back, but it was really uncomfortable.  I might give this one a go, though.  Thanks!

Piffle! The comfort shape cardboard applicator is the best!

(Okay, that's got it. I'm sure there are no guys on the thread any more...)

I love the mooncup! Took a while to get used to, but very comfortable and easy to use!

Here, here!

I love mine, too.  People say, 'Gross!' but after three kids, it's not gross at all.  Lighter times of the month, too, IME.  Well worth getting used to.

Essentials?

My mom brought over those vacuum seal bags that actually WORK.  I've not seen the likes over here.  I've just bought 100 of them (no joke) for moving.

I've tried loads of them here and none of them is as good. :\\\'(

I also get Cetaphil from there and big bottles of ibu and tylenol.

Here, here!

I love mine, too.  People say, 'Gross!' but after three kids, it's not gross at all.  Lighter times of the month, too, IME.  Well worth getting used to.

I'd definitely be one of the people to say gross but I am still curious about it. The thing that really puts me off is that I imagine its a bit messy  How does it work when you need to empty it but you're in a public toilet (ie work)?

I'd definitely be one of the people to say gross but I am still curious about it. The thing that really puts me off is that I imagine its a bit messy  How does it work when you need to empty it but you're in a public toilet (ie work)?

I just take it out and wipe it out with toilet paper and pop it back in. Not much actually comes out even on your heaviest days, its surprising.

Same as rach, here, too.

and then just wash my hands as I normally would.

I realise it does require a person who's quite comfortable with her body, because as pointed out it does take some getting used to.

But I'm glad I stuck with it because in the long run it's really been worth it for me, not to mention, saving money and better for the environment.

The Discovery taco seasoning is so close, I don't notice the difference (there isn't any curry powder in that one, at least!)

Dude, what's up with that?  I bought a container of cajun spice from ASDA and the cumin is so strong I can't stand it.  I like curry, just not in my canjun.   How any one can confuse the two is beyond me.

Same as rach, here, too.

and then just wash my hands as I normally would.

I realise it does require a person who's quite comfortable with her body, because as pointed out it does take some getting used to.

But I'm glad I stuck with it because in the long run it's really been worth it for me, not to mention, saving money and better for the environment.

Also for me, I find after having a baby, tampons are really really uncomfortable, they seem to turn around and just feel terrible. I was using pads, but then my friend suggested this (I feel like saying, Mom, do you ever have that "not so clean" feeling) and I bought one at our local ethical vegan supermarket, and I liked it!!